Never Real
by Aerilon452
Summary: Helen and John stage a fight and then reunite down in the Caribbean as a stalker closes in drawing the entire team into a game of cat and mouse.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: John comes to the ugly truth about his love for Helen.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sanctuary.

Rating: T+

Pairing: Helen and John.

**NEVER REAL:**

Helen stood shell shocked in the wake of John leaving. Had he said what she thought he had just said? Did she believe him? Had she really never wanted to see him again? She had to run through it all again in her mind; replay all the angry words, the cold distant tone lingering in John's voice. Helen had frostbite from his words.

_She was standing by her desk looking over a report when he had come in. Helen knew it was him; she always knew. "John." The tone was flat, even. It had to be that way._

"_Do you have a few minutes, Doctor?" John had one arm behind his back and the other down at his side._

"_About what?" Again the flat even tone. Helen had to remain detached. She had noticed the way he called her Doctor rather than the soft way he said Helen._

"_I had time to think about what you said, about all that we have been through, and I have come to one conclusion." John stepped to the fire place. He forced himself to keep eye contact with her. "We were never real."_

_Helen felt as if she had been shot. All of her desire to stay detached flew out the window. Her world just turned upside down. John had been trying to keep them together for well over one hundred years and now he was saying they were never real. How could he? She was feeling numb inside. John was making her shut down._

"_I thought back over everything, all the times we spent together and how I had to force myself to smile at you, to entice you. I thought I loved you, but I didn't. It wasn't real for me. It was a game. Nothing more. We meant nothing." John stayed where he was._

"_John…" Helen could barely speak. She felt weak at the knees. Her world was spinning and she couldn't stop it. "Please, don't…"_

"_I was with you out of ego and a pure mad desire to win. You were a trophy, nothing more…"_

"_John… stop it! I can't…" She wanted to crumble, to cry. John had said truly terrible things to her before but never with this level of cruelty. He wasn't someone she recognized right now. This John before her was a stranger even more so than the monster John had been._

"_You get to be honest in hollow earth and I have to take your venom. Now you deny me my right to be just as cruel as you were. I am only speaking the truth I have denied for so long."_

"_This isn't you."_

"_I'm only giving you what you want. You want to never see me again and now I finally can give you that. I will never be in this place again and I will certainly never render aide to you of any kind. Don't bother contacting me; I won't answer. Enjoy the rest of your lonely life Dr. Magnus." Montague John Druitt turned to leave and teleported out._

_Helen fell to the floor landing on her knees. A sob tore from her throat that she couldn't contain. John had been colder than normal, his demeanor cruel. This was not the man she knew; the man who struggled with the constant torment of the energy elemental. He was a stranger to her. She cried because that was all she could do as her heart died inside._

The scene had finished playing out and she wanted to cry all over again. John had been crueler to her than he had ever been before. She would have preferred if he had flat out punched her. In fact she would have preferred a fight than this bone deep numbness she was feeling right now. It was all she was feeling.

Will found Magnus still in her office standing by her desk. He stayed near the door because Tesla was in there with her and things were getting heated. Tesla was pacing and Magnus stood with her arms crossed, her hip cocked. She was in no mood for the vampire. That was as much as Will could gather.

"What did that psycho say to you?" Nikola demanded.

"He said we weren't real, that we were never real." Helen sounded as if she wanted to cry. "We were real weren't we?"

"Before the blood, yes. After…" Nikola sighed. "He changed, we all changed. John didn't know how to let go. I know my feelings…"

Magnus rounded on Tesla then from what Will could see and hear, "What feelings? You never feel for anyone but yourself. You only feel for me when I can clean up one your messes or when it is of greatest benefit to you. Let's face it Nikola, you only want me because you can't have me. And you'll never have me. I would never take you to bed… ever."

"You want to be alone, two can play this game." Tesla turned to walk out the opposite office door. "Enjoy your frigid life!" He snarled slamming the door.

Will back tracked and left Magnus alone. If what he had just witnessed was anything to go by his boss would want to be alone. There was never any great benefit to catching Magnus when she was having to repair her emotional shields.

Helen took a few deep breaths to calm her rattled nerves. This was all part of the plan; she had to remember that. She closed her hand over her mouth to stop her lips from trembling. It hurt to say those things. Nikola was still her best friend, but she had to say those things. '_Just part of the plan. Just part of the plan._' Helen chanted over and over to herself. Pushing away from the edge of her desk she set about putting things in order for when she left. Helen had to get away for a while, leave the Sanctuary to Will. Doctor Helen Magnus needed to take a vacation, as rare as it was for her. She still needed it and she would take it.

**1 WEEK LATER:**

John was stretched out on the pearly white sand of the beach in the Caribbean letting the turquoise water crash over him. The sun beat down on his pale flesh; by the end of the day he would be red. It all felt good, except his heart was heavy. The words he had spoken to Helen still weighed heavily on his mind. Though, it was all part of her plan. This was Helen's idea. He only followed her script. The whole thing had made him sick from start to finish. His part in it had been so… John didn't know what the right word was. He felt sick. He wanted to be sick as he said those things to her. Even as he was saying them John wanted to stop, take it all back. Only, this was as much for him as it was for Helen.

Again the warm water crashed over him momentarily drowning out the distant steel drum music that danced through the air. He was about to rise when a shadow fell over him John knew who it was even before she began to speak. It took her enough time to get here.

Helen walked along the beach of her private property keeping the sight of the man she knew all to well who was lying on the beach being caressed by the waves. She walked slowly taking in the scene of him. The wind blew her hair, taking all the curls from around her face. She stopped short of John's body marveling in the way he wore his crimson sarong. The wave had plastered it to his body.

John stretched, then stood to look at Helen. Wrapped around her waist was a black sarong with silver stars covering black bikini bottoms. Black ties were around the back of her neck keeping the other half of the bikini to her torso. The bottom ties were tied around her back just under her rib cage leaving her stomach framed in black. Her hair even fell down over her shoulders making her look even more gorgeous than he had ever seen her. Reaching out to her John pulled her close asking, "Did I follow your script to the letter?"

Helen smiled as bright as the sun and then punched John really hard in the upper arm. He reacted by tightening his arms around her waist, "That was for being just a little too cruel." Rising up to her bare tip toes Helen gently kissed him. "That was for hitting every word."

John smiled broadly, but it didn't reach his eyes. He leaned into her, resting his cheek on top of her head. His heart had broken as he forced those words out of his mouth. The frost he put into his voice was enough to give him a case of hypothermia. "I never want to say those things to you ever again." John vowed to Helen. Never would those words pass through his lips in her direction.

"I know and they hurt me to hear," Helen clung to John feeling the contours of his body against her. His flesh felt so good against her. Having come up with this plan with John made her realize that the words needed to be said; the anger had to be purged for them to move on. "But it had to be staged…"

John slipped his arm from around her waist and used his hand to cover her mouth, "I know. Helen, you explained it to me in great detail." He gave her a sorrowful look, "Don't you ever make me say those things to you again, even in a plan for us to be together. I hated every minute of it."

Helen took John's hand from her mouth saying, "I hated every minute of it too. Almost as much as I hated being cruel to Nikola." It pained her to great lengths to be so cold to Nikola, but she had to if she was going to get away to be here with him. For three months in secret they had been working to take that creature from John and they had succeeded just two weeks ago. It was then that Helen cooked up the 'fight'. The night they had planned it out had been the hardest night ever. She wasn't entirely sure why she was trusting John at all. It was her love for him that brought her here. Even after all that they had been through she could still love him, still desire him, and still want his lips on hers.

"But we are together now," John kissed her forehead "That's all that matters." They would have to have a united front to challenge those who were coming after them. Helen had confided in him that she had felt as if she had been under surveillance for weeks. John had had the same feeling. It was one of the reasons Helen had taken such drastic steps to free him of the energy elemental. Rather than dwell on the darker parts of their life, for John wanted to have fun with her. "You are looking a little over heated." He took grasped her waist and teleported them a short distance into the water. They reappeared with a wave crashing over them. He could only laugh.

Helen was stunned as she felt John teleport. Then warm water surrounded her and a wave covered them. She sputtered water and laughed at the playfulness John was showing her. He only laughed where she shoved water in his face and then made her way back to the shore. She knew she wasn't going to beat him, she knew she couldn't. This was a game and it was a game she wanted to play. It took her mind off of everything else. He took her about the waist then, just as she thought he would. Helen hooked her foot around his ankle taking them both down into the water.

John kept his arms around her waist bringing them up for air. She turned in his arms draping her arms over his shoulders. Helen smiled up at him and John smiled in return. They had been through so much to get to this point. John was just grateful that Helen hadn't really given up on him. Feeling the euphoria that Helen could induce john picked her up so he could teleport them back to the shore. As much as playing in the water all day would appeal to him, Helen had only just arrived in paradise and he wanted her to enjoy it.

Helen felt alive, felt like her old self back before the blood when she had been in love with him. Now she could feel that all over again. John picked her up and kept her in his arms as he walked back to the beach bungalow she owned. From where she was Helen could see candles lining the porch, two chez lounge chairs with a table in between them along with a bottle and two glasses. "Are we celebrating?" Helen asked kissing John's cheek.

"Yes, we are…" John let his sentence hang there when he stepped up on the porch. Slowly he lowered Helen to one of the lounges before taking the second one. He grabbed the bottle of champagne and popped the cork. John filled both glasses, handing one to Helen. "This is for us, for our new beginning. Hopefully it will last longer than two years." He was referring to the time they spent together as humans. What happened after was a living nightmare. John had been a monster to her. Now he had a chance to take it back, to make everything right between them.

"I'll drink to that." Helen drank from the flute feeling the bubbles tickling her nose. She was feeling really good about life, about John. Rising from the deck chair Helen went to sit with John. She curled into his side but turned her attention to the horizon. A storm was gathering, it looked to be staying just away from the island. Pillowing her head on his chest Helen just relaxed even more. It was a nice day that would turn into a nice night soon enough.

John was reluctant to speak, to break the spell the sea storm held over them but he had to know, "What exactly did you say to Nikola?" Helen had said it hurt her to be cruel to Nikola. John was wondering what she could have said.

Helen stiffened against John. She replayed the words she had about screamed at Nikola. Sitting up, she settled over John's waist; sitting astride him. Helen placed her hands on John;s shoulders fro balance and answered his question, "I accused him of only caring about me when it served his interests." Even now, Helen didn't believe those words. Nikola cared about her in his own twisted way. "I even told him that he only wanted me because he couldn't have me and that I would never take him to my bed." Helen looked away feeling ashamed of what she had said to her oldest friend.

John rested his hands over her hips, "You only said what you said to make him leave, to get out of the way of danger." He sat up and kissed the space above her heart. "Helen, you were trying to protect him."

She looked back at him as if John had grown another head, "You believe that?" Helen always believed that John hated Nikola just as much as Nikola hated John.

"We were all friends once. Nikola just buried the fragile friendship we shared under anger, ego, and a desire to have someone who was already in love with someone else." John leaned back with a sigh. He never hated Nikola. The half vampire had started the war between them. John had been so consumed by Helen that he had let the feud continue until it couldn't be repaired by anyone. He was further surprised by the feeling of her lips against his. She had the softest lips ever. Helen lips could put a rose petal to shame.

Just up the sandy beach, in the tree line a camera clicked away taking shot after shot. The camera's memory card was nearly full. They had taken picture after picture of Magnus and Druitt as they played in the water, as he carried her to the shore, as they drank together, and now as they were lying together watching a storm rumble out at sea. Then Magnus was straddling Druitt's lap, kissing him, just being close to him. It wouldn't do for the head of the Sanctuary Network to be photographed consorting with a known killer. Tomorrow another envelope of pictures would be sent back to the States.

**BACK AT THE SANCTUARY:**

Will got up that morning knowing that his boss wouldn't be in her office. Three days ago he had woken up to a note on his door saying that he was in charge until further notice. Will hadn't taken that well. He was worried about Magnus, worried about what she might be doing. In the same note she told him that she was going to be staying away from the Sanctuary until she could sort a few details out. Will had no idea what that was about but he did trust Helen, even if he worried about her. This morning was going to be a whole other ball of wax. Waiting for Doctor Will Zimmerman was a plain manila envelope. As he was opening the envelope Kate, Henry, and the Big Guy crowded in his door. They were all holding the same type of envelope. Will was curious. He opened his and his jaw nearly dropped. The photo was of Magnus and Druitt in an apartment window kissing, barely clothed, and in a deep state of passion. He dropped the photo's looking to the others for confirmation on what he saw. Kate nodded and showed him the back of her photo. It read, '_Ever wonder what your boss does when she leaves the children home?'_

"Ok, I can take knowing that the Doc had a thing with Tall, Bald, and Deadly a long time ago, but this makes it just a little too real." Kate tossed her envelope on the floor. "And who the hell knew where they would be to take those photos?" She was mad and she had a right to be. Not because the boss was getting it from Druitt, but because someone was following them and waving it around in front of the rest of them. Did she really care that Magnus was sleeping with a homicidal maniac? Maybe a little. It wasn't her business.

"Kate, calm down." Will gestured to her. "These photos could have been doctored. We know Magnus has plenty of enemies who would love to see us start to doubt her." Adam Worth came to Will's mind. It was a good thought, only, Worth was dead.

"I can scan them and check out to see if they are real." Henry offered. He didn't want to believe the pictures were real.

"I'll help." The Big Guy rumbled. He wasn't too fond of Druitt or of the pictures of them together. Magnus knew what she was doing and he had to trust that. He was her friend after all. Sometimes a friend just had to keep quiet.

"Good, thanks." Will ran his had through his hair. "Kate you and I will work on finding this building."

**THE CARIBBEAN:**

Helen and John had ventured into the town to have a nice dinner out. She had wanted to stay in her bungalow on the porch in John's arms; food however was important. So, they ventured out to find a restaurant. They ended up eating on a terrace listening to island drummers and watching tourists dance. This would be a nice first night for them out in public where no one knew them, no one would know anything about The Five or of abnormals or of the Sanctuary. Together they were free. If Helen wanted then she could openly take his hand and now one would think it would be out of character for them. It was what they needed.

As they had walked up the shore to the road that would lead them to the town Helen had put on a white beach camisole to cover up her bikini top. The night was warm. The subtle summer breeze on the other hand would chill her skin. John had changed before they left. He had donned black linen pants with a white poet's shirt. To the casual observer they would look like just another tourist couple enjoying the beaches and the music. That was what they wanted people to think.

Dinner was nice enough; people would pass by and stare at them. Helen didn't notice. All she could see was John in front of her smiling. They ate with the music pounding against their skin, passion smoldering between them. The music was giving John ideas. They used to dance together and people would be envious of them. In Britain's high society they were the envied couple of all. To others it seemed they would last. The others are now long dead and Helen and John did last; just not in the way people would expect. Pushing aside his plate of lobster John rose from his chair offering Helen his hand. "Would the lady care to dance?" He added a smile for good measure. The song had changed; the beat slower.

Helen smiled at John in return taking his hand. She allowed him to pull her out to the dance floor where he moved in close, took her about the waist. Her arms draped over his shoulders where images of them playing in the water danced through her mind as they swayed together. Angling her head, Helen wanted to watch his eyes, watch the emotions play in his smoky blue depths. The only emotion she saw was love. He loved her that much Helen could see and it was enough for her. As far as Helen was concerned they could dance, sway, like this forever. Little did she know that this paradise was going to be shattered.

"Doctor Magnus?"

John looked to a local as Helen reacted to her name being called. That told the local coming closer all he needed to know. John's protection instinct kicked in and he moved in front of Helen. He wouldn't move unless she told him too. Something told him that she wasn't going to get him to move out of her way. Helen being stalked was the main reason they had cooked up the fight and escaped the city to come to the Caribbean island. It was as much for a vacation as it was for John to protect Helen. "What do you want?" John lowered his voice into that deadly thickly accented tone that made people more than a little afraid of him.

"This is for Doctor Magnus." The local held out a plain manila envelope with Helen's name on it.

John took it and glared at the local. The young man backed away truly fearing for his life. Not bothering to see if the boy left John turned to Helen holding out the package to her. For a split second Helen looked almost afraid to open the envelope. She reached for it and without hesitation opened the flap. A single picture was inside. John had to stand next to Helen to see the content. It was a picture of them in his bed in London. The balcony doors were open, they were lying in bed with Helen stretched out over him; the white sheet of his bed barely covering them. "Who would do this?" Helen didn't answer him. She just put the photo back in the envelope and signaled that they should head back. John moved to the table, left enough money to cover the food and the tip, and he hurried back to Helen where they found a secluded spot to teleport. There was no chance in Hell he was going to risk walking. The sun had set and night was upon the island. A few short seconds later they were in the bedroom with Helen closing the doors to the small porch and the bedroom door.

"Not again," Helen whispered as she locked the door. The last time she had had a stalker was back in the early 70's and it turned out to be one of the human form abnormals she had been helping to meld into life in the city. It started out as having a feeling of being watched, then the pictures would start. It hadn't gone much farther then the pictures last time. Helen didn't know what to expect this time. Last time as she was getting desperate Helen had gone to John. By the time they had returned Constance had disappeared. Helen thought it was over. Apparently she was wrong.

John went to Helen, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her his warmth. "Talk to me." He whispered slowly walking them back to the bed. Helen had always relaxed when she was forced to stay still. She went with him. John let go of her for a second to settle on the bed. Then he reached out to her again so he could bring her down next to him. "Tell me what is happening?" He asked.

"We've been feeling watched for the last few weeks, well, I believe it might be the same person who stalked me over 35 years ago." Helen snuggled into John's side letting her body shake. She hated this, hated being watched as if she were some object of study. Now she knew how all the residents had to feel upon entering her sanctuary the first time. It wasn't the same, but it was close enough to make her uncomfortable.

John held Helen close as she continued to shake. "Do you know who could be doing this?" He asked. 35 years ago she had gone to him for help and back then John hadn't taken it seriously, but he had been willing to help her. Now, John was taking this seriously as he was now the one being followed. The pictures had been aimed at him as well, not just Helen.

Helen let out a shuddering breath. "The woman 35 years ago was Constance Avery…"

"Avery?" John sat up then looking down at Helen. "Are you sure?" The name rang a bell so loud in his head that John felt his ears ringing. James had ranted and raved over two brothers by the name of Avery back in the days of Oxford. Of course john had listened half of the time until James mentioned the brothers watching Helen; then he perked up and was helpful.

"Pretty sure," Helen was feeling confused. "She had come to the Sanctuary back then looking for aide. I was in New York at the time she came to the sanctuary there. I never go the chance to help her." It clicked then. "Why is the last name so important?" She went back over the long list of names from people she had known over the years but no one with the name of Avery jumped out at her.

John settled back down to look at the curtain canopy above the bed, "We knew a Dalton and Parish Avery at Oxford." He closed his eyes trying to recall both faces of the men who had watched Helen with ravenous hunger. It had galled John to no end; that was before he and Helen were in a relationship. Back then, before he knew her in and out, John had felt so protective of Helen. John loved her so much back then.

"Wait…" Now it was clicking for her, "Dalton and Parish. Dear Lord… I never made that connection." Helen could kick herself for missing the obvious. "I should have seen it."

"Even you are not all seeing and not all knowing." He replied, trying to soothe her without much success. Without needing to see Helen, John pulled her close offering the warmth of his body to comfort her. It was what she needed. They both needed sleep now more than ever. "Tomorrow we can sort it all out. Now is the time for sleep." Gently he kissed the top of her head pulling the light sheet over them. Helen shifted restlessly against him. "Would you like for me to check the all the doors and windows?" He offered. It might help her to sleep better.

"Please," Helen rolled her gaze up to meet John's offering him a smile. She was going to go with him. Being alone, even for a short time, was not on her list of things to do right now. Not when someone was watching them. It was irrational for her to feel this way with John being so near. Helen couldn't help it. Someone had been snapping photos of them while they were being intimate.

John rolled out of bed to go to the door. Helen was right there with him taking his hand. He knew she was rattled by the photos. She had a right to be. Someone was watching her and invading her privacy. This time it wasn't only Helen it was his privacy as well. If John still had his bloodlust then he wouldn't hesitate to go after the person stalking Helen. Right now he was a normal man with a renewed clarity of mind.

**SERBIA****:**

Nikola roamed the streets of his hometown feeling oddly out of sync and oddly sick to be on his home soil. The town hadn't changed much from his childhood. It was sad to see. Tesla picked up his pace to head to the building on the outskirts of town where his first lab had been. He had left it alone for sixty years and now he was back with the words Helen had spoken to him still ringing in his ears. Could she be right? Had he only wanted her because Johnny Druitt was the one to hold her heart? As much as it hurt him to hear those words, Helen might be right.

"Mr. Tesla?"

Nikola turned to see a young boy heading towards him. On first instinct Nikola would have told the boy to leave him alone. Only the boy was carrying an envelope with his name scrawled on it in big bold letters. That intrigued Nikola more so than the annoyance of the little boy coming after him. "Yes…"

"This is for you."

Nikola took the envelope from the kid and waited for the boy to scurry off on home before he opened it to see what was inside. Maybe it was something from Helen, an apology perhaps. Though, he doubted it. Helen would have contacted him another way were that the case. Of curse Helen never apologized unless she felt she was truly wrong, and even then it was a toss up if she would actually admit it.

A few more seconds and the boy was out of sight. That allowed Nikola to open the envelope. Inside were three sets of pictures all time coded for earlier that day. There were three sets of pictures, all of Helen and John, and they were playing in crystal clear water of an island. The pictures showed various smiles and laughs. "SON OF A BITCH!" She had lied to him. That fight she had with Druitt wasn't real. But what begged the question was who sent him the pictures. It wasn't like Helen to taunt him. Looking in the envelope again Nikola found nothing until a small patch of writing caught his attention. Flipping over the picture of John picking Helen up, Nikola read the words out loud, '_Guess she doesn't love you at all…_' Nikola growled and shredded the photos with his claws.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: John comes to the ugly truth about his love for Helen.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sanctuary. I borrowed a certain scene from 40 days and 40 nights

Rating: T+

Pairing: Helen and John.

**NEVER REAL:**

Morning found Helen Magnus in bed, the curtains whispering in the breeze, and a thin cream sheet covering her body. John was there wearing only light black linen pants. She could see the out line of his legs through the pants. He was watching the gentle rolling of the waves from the open doors of the back veranda that led to the dock. His strong well defined back muscles rippled and flexed with every breath he took. Helen could sit there and watch him all day. Though, that was not on the agenda for the day. Sitting up Helen wrapped the sheet around her and climbed out of bed to join John. She wrapped arms around him kissing his shoulder blade. "Good morning my love," Helen kissed his shoulder again.

John angled his body, draping his arm over her shoulder and kissing the top of her head. "Good morning." His mind was already distracted. In his right hand he held something he thought he never would have seen again. James had promised they had all been destroyed. "As loathe as I am to ruin our slice of paradise," John started to say, "I found this waiting on the front door when I went for the paper." John handed her the folder and moved away from her. Reading what he had read on the pages had brought up old wounds and inner demons that he never wanted to face again.

Helen read the name on the file; _Mary Jane Kelly_. "Dear Lord." Helen closed the file and dropped the folder to the floor. "She was one of your victims?" His confirmation wasn't needed; she knew the young girl talked about in the file belonged to John during those first few months of his madness. Now she knew the creature had existed inside of him, she took stock of all that John had done. John had done terrible things because the creature was controlling him.

"James told me he gathered all the files and burned them." John pounded his fist on the railing out of anger. James had lied to him. The sting of yet another betrayal from a man he trusted. Helen was holding him again, kissing his shoulder, and nuzzling his skin. John had a long dark road to travel before he was fully purged of all the evil the creature had left on his soul. Before this was over, John was looking at the possibility of death again.

"Maybe he didn't know this copy existed." Helen mused. There had been many inspectors investigating the Ripper murders back then that James would have had trouble locating all the files. Any reminder that she had of John as Jack the Ripper made her heart break and it made John remember all the suffering he had been forced to inflict. "John… James tried….."

"I know," John turned and cupped Helen's face. "I don't blame him." he leaned down into her, took her lips, and claimed her mouth with a fiery kiss that made his blood boil. Her body molded to his, her heart beat in time with his. She was his world and he had come so close to losing that once. What would happen to him if he lost her? John would let his sanity go as quickly as water rushes through a stream.

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" Helen asked stepping back from him, gazing up into his eyes. "I just want you to hold me like you used to." John stepped to her, rested his hands on her waist, and then slid his hands up her back burying his nose in her hair. Helen felt at home then. She was encased in John's warmth with nothing to come between them.

**SANCTUARY:**

Will sat in his office replaying the events of the past week; all the changes he noticed in Magnus. She had been sneaking away off and on for three weeks. Will never thought anything of it because it was just who she was. Helen Magnus often snuck off in the dead of night to meet with abnormals who couldn't come out in the day light. He never thought of it until now, until he got the picture of his boss and John Druitt in a window starting to have sex. The picture had been burned into his mind, even though he had shredded the actual photo.

Kate had gone off to the gym and been in there for a few hours. She had been bouncing back and forth between sarcastic jokes and fits of anger at the person who was daring to stalk her boss. Helen had given Kate a second chance and that meant a lot to Kate. Will knew that. Will respected that. They all had come to trust Kate more and more as the days wore on.

Henry had been working at his computers for hours trying to prove the photo was doctored and he couldn't. The werewolf was taking the news easier than he thought he should be. Magnus was his family and seeing her like that in the photo with Druitt made his mind spin.

The Big guy was as quiet and stoic as ever. He offered no opinion one way or the other. Magnus was his friend and he was her trusted confidant. Will was sure that she told Biggie secrets she would never trust with him or with anyone else.

**CARIBBEAN:**

The afternoon dragged on with Helen going over all that she could remember about the Avery brothers. "As I recall, Parish may have become an Inspector with Scotland Yard." She held out the file to John. He was repulsed by it, but that didn't stop him from taking it and leafing through it. "I don't remember what Dalton had as a vocation." Helen sat in front of John on the couch. He studied the words on the page carefully even though she knew he had read it hundred times by now. "Parish could have kept it from James or made a duplicate."

John stopped reading to look at Helen, "Why now? What would be there to gain? We've done nothing to them." Looking back to the file John read the words that were now ingrained on his memory. _Mary Jane Kelly_. She had been a sweet young thing of no more than 23; the same age as his own child. '_Dear Lord, what horrors am I still capable of?_' John thought while giving away none of what he was feeling. Still, he thought Helen would know soon enough. She always knew him.

"It wasn't you John," Helen whispered slipping closer to him so she could put her arms around him. This was the man she had loved like no other in her life. It had taken her too long to realize the pain and torment he had suffered at the hands of the energy elemental. All she had been concerned with was her pain and how John had hurt her. Never once did she try to see things from his perspective. Until a month ago.

"My hands are still coated with the blood of the young girls I murdered." John let go of the file and wrapped his arms around Helen just feeling her bare skin against his arms. She had chosen to wear another bikini, white this time, and a golden sarong to match. He appreciated it deep down. It allowed him to reach out and touch her skin, to gain peace of mind from the comfort of her skin alone. John rested his had on her shoulder, savoring the feel of her.

"We'll figure this out, I promise." Helen pulled back, staying on her knees, she cupped his face. "It's not just me this time, it's both of us." She leaned into him, kissed him softly, sweetly.

"Helen, my love…" John breathed out. He picked her up brought her legs around his waist. He just wanted to kiss her. Walking out to the back deck he set her on the railing and let the afternoon sun warm them as they continued to kiss.

Helen dug her fingers into his shoulders. She had to keep a hold of him, keep a hold of his strong body. He was alive. He was sane. He was with her now as they were meant to be. This time fate would not rip them apart. Helen was so tired of constantly putting forth the effort to distrust John when they were around other people. When they were alone she could freely smile at him, freely sit close to him, freely laugh with him. The others wouldn't have understood. Helen knew that. It was why she was here with John now. Love for him drove her to be here. It was driving her to try and fix what was wrong between them.

John held Helen so close, so tight against him as he continued to feast at her mouth. Just kissing her was all be was comfortable doing. He wanted more of her, only, he wasn't sure if he would end up hurting her. His fear kept him from taking her to bed again. John didn't want to hurt her.

She was so lost in the sensation of his lips, his tongue dancing with hers, that Helen almost missed the ringing of her cell phone. She almost forgot that she had brought it. "John…" Helen leaned back careful to keep her hands on his shoulder, "My phone." He shook his head, stepping back bringing her off the railing. John moved aside to let her head back inside from the deck. Helen made sure she was composed as well as she could be as she hit the answer button on her iPhone. "Hello?"

"_Magnus, it's Will._"

Helen breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, Will, hello. How are things at the Sanctuary?" She figured if she made polite small talk that he might not pick up on anything. John stepped back inside a few seconds later. It was like have the breath stolen from her lungs. No matter how he looked he would always be gorgeous to her.

"_Things are fine. Kate's locked herself in the gym. Henry is chained to his computers. The big Guy is cleaning non stop. And I'm calling you._"

"Really?" Helen smiled when John stepped to her and placed his hands on her hips. He was listening very intently and it made him want to have a little fun. John rubbed his thumbs back and forth over the slight rise of her hip bones. It was one of her spots that only John knew about. She had to concentrate not sigh in delight.

"_Would you care to know why?_"

"Absolutely," Helen answered. John had moved in closer. Now his lips were nibbling along her jaw line. She was finding it hard to concentrate.

"_Well, yesterday the four of us each got a plain envelope with a single picture in it. This picture was a photo of you and Druitt alone in an apartment window during a very intimate… meeting._"

Helen froze instantly and so did John. He mouthed 'what?'. She only held up her finger to silence him further. Taking the hint John sat down on the couch waiting for her to finish the phone call. "Will, did the photo say anything? Were there any prints on it?"

"_So, you are with Druitt?_"

"Will, this is important." Helen snapped. Gone was her calm to be replaced by frustration. "Did you find any prints on the photo?" Maybe they had gotten lucky. Helen hoped that there would be a partial print to life and run through her connections.

"_No, nothing. Henry was trying to prove they were doctored. But hearing you now, I know they are genuine._"

"Will, I appreciate your concern, really I do, but this is about John and myself. You're not to be involved." Helen was warning him in a round about way that he should just stay out of it. Though, Helen could guess that Will wouldn't just leave it alone. If he figured out where they were then he and the others were likely to show up on her door step. She didn't give her protégé a chance to reply. Helen disconnected the call and tossed her cell phone in the chair.

"Should I even ask?" John slide to the edge of the couch clasping his hands together looking at Helen. The phone call was a bucket of cold water. Inside he was relieved. As much as John wanted Helen, he wanted to wait and be sure that he wouldn't hurt her when they finally took the last step and renewed the lovers bound between them.

"Whoever is watching us sent a photo to the rest of my team. It was a picture of us in your apartment a few weeks ago." Helen started to pace. "The one thing I want is privacy and now…"

John rose off the couch and went to Helen, to stop her furious pacing. He pulled her to a stop, ran his hands up and down her sides, letting the warmth of his hands seep into her skin. "Just another problem that we will have to think our way out of," A smile lit his face and brightened his eyes. John had to remain positive for Helen. It was her life that was about to be brought down like a house of cards because of her association with him.

"Yes, careful thinking and not your usual way of doing things. Brains over brawn," Helen reminded. She was happy to have her John back. It had been too long since she had seen the genius that resided inside of him only to be buried by the killer nature of the energy elemental.

"I thought you liked it when I was all intimidating?" John teased. He would have backed her into the wall, but thought twice about it. The last time he had done that he had held a razor to her throat, but at the last second slammed the blade into the wall. John stepped away clenching and unclenching his fists. Those dark memories were rising again. He pressed the heels of his palms into his closed eyes trying to push those images away.

Helen sensed the dark shift inside of John. She knew the memories he battled on a daily basis. Going to her messenger bag Helen pulled out a syringe that contained an experimental treatment she had been working on for almost a year. "John, here…" He didn't look at her as he offered his arm. Helen slid the needle into his arm and pushed the plunger down. The amber liquid disappeared into his blood stream.

John resisted the urge to hiss at the searing acid like pain of the medication Helen had developed for him. It was supposed to subtly shift his electrochemical signature and make him inhospitable for the energy elemental. Helen had forgotten to mention that every time it would feel as if he was being burned alive from the inside out with every injection. John kept silent, bearing the pain as his punishment for all he put Helen through. Even as the medicine was helping him it was torturing him at the same time. He deserved it. More seconds passed before he started to feel the calm breath of serenity wash over him. "How long until this thing is out my system for good?"

"It's hard to say. This serum takes time to work. You might have to take it for the rest of your life." Helen recapped the needle and put it inside the tiny kit she had brought with her. "The hard part about elementals is that you can't kill them. This energy elemental is very strong and I hope that the serum will cast it out for good. John, it will take time, I told you this."

He turned to her and smiled that tortured smile he only used when he wanted to fall apart, to give in, "I know… I just want it to work." John pulled her back into his arms then. A sigh escaped his lips, made his body shudder. She was all he ever wanted and now he had a chance to be with her. John was going to make plenty sure he was never going to harm or disappoint her again. The night he had come to her, broken down in front of her, begged for help, had been the hardest night of his life. 135 years of killing was enough. John was sick of living, being seen as a monster.

"I want it to work too." Helen wrapped her arms around John's waist and squeezed with all of her strength. He was her balance. She needed him to keep sane. "Is there anything I can do to take your mind off of all of this?" Helen would do anything right now to make him feel better. Here, in paradise, John was her main concern. He had to be. There was so much between them that still hurt. Here in this place they could mend the pain and hopefully move on together.

"No, my love, nothing," John looked down into her smoky blue eyes, "But, I would not be apposed to walking on the beach with the most beautiful woman I know." He smiled with delight as love lit Helen's eyes much as it had the night he asked her to be his wife. That night was a bitter sweet memory. It would play in his mind to torture him with all sorts of WHAT IF's. Now, they had moved past such desires. John would be content to be Helen's consort for as long as she would have him.

"A walk on the beach it is." Helen agreed taking John's offered hands. He led her out of the house and down to the beach that spanned the length of her private property. They walked as they hadn't for a long time. They talked about everything and nothing. To Helen this was her perfect day. She wanted it to last for as long as she could keep it.

**LATER THAT NIGHT:**

Helen walked back along the beach by herself carrying an assortment of white roses and orchids. John had said he wanted to go along a head and make a few preparations. He had a surprise for her. Helen was curious, anxious, and excited to find out what John had planned for her. Each step she took brought her closer and closer back to the beach house where she saw a bon fire ignite. She stopped, felt her body jump at the sight of the flames stretching towards the heavens. Helen saw John then, coming around the raging pyre, beckoning her to come to him. Warmth flowed through her.

John stood helpless as he watched Helen walk towards him. She looked like a goddess come to earth to torment mere mortals. The white of her bathing suit glowed against the gold of the sarong draped low on her hips. He hungered to kiss her, to rain teasing nips down her abdomen. His lust kicked into over drive and he had to forcibly dial it back. Tonight was about giving Helen pleasure, giving her a part of the past that she thought lost forever. John wanted to make her happy. So he stood and waited for her to come to him.

Helen felt her feet sink into the sand with very step. John wasn't using his ability. This was her choice and he was letting her make it. So many thoughts bombarded her mind, so many ways he could seduce her tonight. She wanted him to make love to her. Every time in the past month when they had started the ball rolling John had stopped claiming he didn't want to hurt her. Sometimes Helen had wanted the pleasurable violence she and John had once shared. That hint of violence had turned her on more so than she thought it would have. Some how she knew that tonight would be different.

John stretched out his arm, offering Helen his hand. She placed her free hand in his allowing him to pull her in quickly and kiss her. He didn't give her the chance to deepen the kiss. Pulling his lips from her, John turned Helen so her back was to his bare chest. First he took the flowers from her and set them on the blanket at their feet. Nimbly he moved aside of her mass of dark chocolate brown hair to untie the white laces that kept the top of her bikini in place. The top laces fell over her shoulders, then the laces around her back fell; the white bikini top fell to the sand near the blanket. John couldn't resist. He his hands over her side and up to just below her breasts.

Helen sucked in a breath, felt her whole body quiver in desire. John had only taken off the top of her bikini and already she was turned on. His fingers traced the underside of her breasts, then slid down to her hips, and fiddled with the tie of her sarong. Helen had a moment to feel her long dead Victorian modestly revive and scream at her not to let this continue. She flat out ignored it. John's hands, on her body, felt too good. Helen gasped as John removed her sarong from around her hips.

John had Helen lie down on the dark blue beach blanket. She settled her self on her back waiting for him. And wait she did. John removed one of the orchids from the bundle he had given her. Stretching out next to her John set the orchid across her breasts watching as she drew in a ragged breath. "Tonight is all for you." He whispered kissing her shoulder lightly. Then he took a single white rose in his long nimble fingers. Slowly he drew the petals over her shoulder, over where he had kissed her skin a second ago. John watched Helen's eyes flutter close with the sensation.

Helen tried to keep her eyes on John, fought to keep focused. He drew the rose down her arm. It scraped along her skin, a wicked sensual feeling that made her body jump with desire. She gasped when John took her hand and traced the tip of the rose along each of her fingers. He drew it back up her arm slower than before, drew a circle on her shoulder. He whispered the rose over her collar bone, up the line of her throat, and let it rest against her pulse for a second. Helen moaned.

John wanted it to be his hand that caressed Helen, but was content to let the rose bring Helen pleasure. He drew the petals back down, over her neck, down over her right shoulder. John stopped just at Helen's right wrist. Stretching out his arm, he set the rose at the inside of her knee. Helen exhaled sharply bending her knees. John smiled darkly when he started moving it up along the inside of her thigh. Beside him Helen closed her eyes and fisted her hands in the blanket. The rose traveled up, up, and up over her thigh and over the juncture between her thighs.

Helen felt ever inch of her body come to life under the gentle touch of the rose. She felt her knees fall apart and the rose drag over her nether region. John knew how she liked to be touched; he was using it for pleasurable torture. The wicked silken lips of the rose drew around her navel, up the center of her abdomen, over her ribs and back down. Her body was so high on all the sensations John was bringing out in her. She felt she could climax at any moment. Then she felt it; a petal fell to rest just above her navel.

John set the rose aside as a petal fell to Helen's stomach. He leaned over Helen, put his face close to her abs and gently blew. Helen started moaning and gasping louder and louder. Her stomach rose and fell the harder he blew the petal down her body. It floated down her body only to get caught in the edge of her bikini bottoms. John blew harder following the petal down until it was freed and floating down to the blanket. He sat back as Helen climaxed, digging her fingers into the blanket, arching her back. John sat back watching her feeling his need to take her, to slake his lust, but he couldn't. He wouldn't make love to her until she knew he wouldn't physically harm her.

Helen detonated into a fiery ball of ecstasy as she felt her climax over take her. She dug her hands into the blanket, arched her back, felt the orchids resting over her breasts rise and fall as she desperately tried to drag in air in a desperate attempt to breath. Her heart was racing and sparks flew in and out of her vision. Helen was barely able to roll her head to the side to smile at John. She felt so loose, so relaxed. Her release was just so powerful. It made her whole body shake. This was more powerful than any other time she had been with a man including those first passionate months back when she and John had first taken each other to bed. "I think I'm going to go to sleep now," Helen slurred feeling her eyes close.

John was about to try and keep her awake. Instead he sighed and kissed her forehead. He moved the roses and orchids aside so he could wrap Helen in the blanket. Carefully he lifted her into his arms and set off for the house that was a short distance away. Helen snuggled into his warmth as he walked off. The bonfire would die into the sand while he placed Helen in bed. John would not sleep; he had too much to think about. Who was watching them and why?

**SANCTUARY:**

Will turned off his computer, put away his files, and turned off the light in his office. He was done thinking about all that was going on. Magnus kept secrets; he knew this. He hated it. Yet, at the same time Will knew if he knew some of the secrets Magnus kept locked up he might very well go insane. Just knowing that Druitt was with Magnus had Will on edge and at the same time he was relieved to know that she wasn't alone. He had made it to the door of his office when his phone pinged with an incoming message. Will pulled out his phone; opening the picture message he had been sent. A loud moaning filled the silence of his office, the crackle of a bonfire. Will squinted and was able to make out the silhouettes of Magnus and Druitt. He about dropped his phone.

Kate lay sprawled on her bed flipping through magazine after magazine. All day long she had pummeled the punching bag in the gym with no end in sight from her anger. Why was she angry? It wasn't any secret that the Doc had a seriously messed up relationship with Jack the Ripper. She just couldn't place what was making her angry. Rolling over Kate stared at the ceiling. A sigh escaped her lips and her computer flicked to life. Sitting up and sliding to the edge of the bed Kate went over to her laptop. There was a video file sent to her from an anonymous e-mail. She was about to delete it when it started to play. Moaning filled the void of her computer as the images of Druitt and Magnus filled the screen with the roaring of a bonfire. Kate was able to make out Druitt leaning over her, running a single rose down her arm. Kate slammed the lid of her laptop closed.

Henry had just come from checking the residents in the SHOE. He was working on a tablet when the video started to play. The sound nearly made him jump out of his skin. He hadn't heard that much moaning since he and Erica had split up. Muting the sound Henry went to work on trying to trace the signal. Whoever was sending the video was bouncing the signal all the way to hell and back. Henry was trying to not to look at the video. It was like trying not to think about ice cream when someone was eating it right in front of the other person. He had almost traced the signal when his tablet went dark. Now he would have to start from scratch when he rebooted his tablet. At least when he got to his lab he would be able to trace the IP address. Anyone who hacked the network automatically left a digital footprint. This way Henry could trace them. Foss headed straight for his lab to get started.

**CARIBBEAN****:**

Nikola Tesla stepped off the private charter plane hearing the sweet island music. He had a car waiting for him to take him straight to the Atlantis hotel. After he had gotten over his agitation at having the photos of Helen and John sent to him, Nikola had systematically gone over the photos he hadn't shredded. He realized that he knew that beach. It was on the private stretch of island that Helen owned. The house was spacious; he had stayed there more than once. Now he was going to head there again to make sure the stalker wasn't planning to kill Helen. There was no way in hell he was going to let harm come to Helen. She was still his friend and he wasn't too fond of losing her. Helen was the only one to still put up with him.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: John comes to the ugly truth about his love for Helen.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sanctuary.

Rating: T+

Pairing: Helen and John.

**NEVER REAL:**

**BEACH HOUSE:**

Helen woke feeling loose, relaxed; she felt sated. John had barely even touched her last night. A light breeze had her turning her head to see John sprawled in her big bed lying on his stomach with his faced away from her while the light cream colored sheet was bunched around his waist. Reaching out, Helen drew the tip of her index finger down his spine lightly. John groaned in his sleep, but didn't move an inch. Leaving him to his rest, which she was sure he rarely ever did when he was on his own, Helen wrapped John's discarded crimson sarong around her body and padded bare foot out to the kitchen to make herself a pot of tea.

Helen stood in the small kitchen that was attached to the den watching as the red from the dawn faded; the sun was rising. She left the pot to boil while she walked out on the porch for a few minutes. This time of morning the temperature was just right; not too hot. She inhaled deeply and let the scent of the ocean fill her lungs. Her private slice of paradise and already she was set to leave and head back to her sanctuary, to the complex life she loved so much. The tea pot let off a shrill whistle that the water was boiling. She headed back inside where she set about pulling a few things together for breakfast.

John was floating between the realm of dreams and the waking world. He was slowly being drawn back to the real world with the gentle scrape of a fingernail on his lower back. A smile worked over his lips even though he tried not to. John didn't want to move. He wanted to keep Helen touching him for as long as he could. Then her finger started to travel down. He felt her slowly peel the sheet away from his hips. John rolled over instantly stilling her movements. She pouted playfully with him. "Good morning," John purred arching his back in a stretch.

Helen smirked. "Good morning." She rose from the side of the bed and brought him a tray of fruit with a cup of tea. "Breakfast. I'm sure you're hungry." Helen set the tray over him. It delighted her to see the wonder, the pure amazement fall over his eyes. He probably though this was all a dream. Soon he would wake up. And soon he would be plunged back into madness. Helen reached out to him, cupped his face.

John turned his face into her palm placing a gentle kiss to her warm skin. "Thank you." He knew nothing else to say. Helen was risking so much to help him, to be with him. She was risking her heart in trusting him again. John, with the medication, was now a self contained prison for the energy elemental. He had the weight of his guilt pressing down on him. Helen was there to help him at least. If he could get through the worst of the guilt John would be fine.

Helen moved away from the bed and into the adjoining bathroom to change. In her world, she felt comfortable in business suits, skirts. In the field Helen was at home in boots and jeans and a khaki shirt. Here in paradise Helen Magnus slipped on an emerald bikini halter top, securing the ties behind her neck. She pulled on the matching shorts and tied a white sarong around her hips. Running a brush through her hair a few times Helen went back to the bedroom to see John wearing his black linen pants from yesterday standing at the open doors of the balcony. He was slowly sipping his tea when the first rays of the sun hit his pale skin. John never ceased to take her breath away. Seeing him like that made her think of how drastically different he had been just a few months ago. Helen pictured how he had been.

_Helen had been stretched out on the sofa in her office after dealing with Dr. Lillian Lee of the U.N. She was exhausted, drained, and in desperate need of a nap. It was dark in her office, just a fire casting odd shapes on the walls. The quiet was lulling her mind to the point of a light sleep when she felt eyes on her in the dark. Scanning the dark she saw the outline of a form she knew all too well. "John?"_

_He stepped out of the shadows. Inside of him a battle was being waged for control just as it had been 113 years ago. John was shaking, twitching. "Helen." His voice wavered. John could see her there, on the couch, stretched out. He had disturbed her. That alone screamed at him to leave. If he left he might not come back. He might not survive the night._

_Her heart was breaking all over again. Helen held out her arms, "Come here." She whispered tears gathering in her eyes at the way he was suffering. John lurched towards her. It was a scene all too familiar to her. He was wrestling for control from the creature inside of him. John was losing. Helen just held her arms out to him._

_John collapsed down to his knees looking at Helen. He saw no anger, no hate. Just concern and worry. Leaning over her, he let Helen put her arms around him as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. "Help me… please…" John choked out. His body dissolved into quivering and shaking while Helen continued to hold him._

"I know you're watching me." John mumbled without turning around. He could probably guess what she was thinking about as well. It was always on his mind. Helen, more than likely, was thinking about the night he had broken completely. John had gone to her, begged for help. He knew if he had to live one more day under the control of the creature that he would find a way to end his life. Through the century he had tried a number of times and succeeded once when he forced Helen's hands, but she had brought him back. She had given him a small taste of peace. John yearend to have that peace again.

"I'm sorry," Helen sat down on the edge of the bed again lacing her fingers together. Whenever she allowed it, Helen could still hear his pain filled plea for help. Those three words choked her with sadness. She had always condemned John for letting the darkness in. Now she knew he had no choice. It was one of the reasons she had worked tirelessly to find the medicine he now took.

Setting the tea cup aside, John went to Helen. He crouched down before her looking up into her beautiful blue eyes. "I have my sanity because of you." Resting his head in her lap, John let her warmth calm him. "I'm just glad you're helping me." John would have to let her go soon.

"I'll always find ways to help you, John." Helen drew her hand down the back of his head, down to his neck, and across the back of his shoulders. He had truly been the one man in all of creation that she had wanted. Now she had a chance to get him back and she was going to make sure that she did.

John rolled his gaze up to Helen, was about to rise up to kiss her when a furious pounding sounding at the door. "Whoever that is better have a good reason for being at the door." John teleported away from Helen and to the front door to see who was disturbing them.

Nikola stood under the awning of the thatch roof porch taking in the sight of the spacious beach house. There was a little garden fountain, a hammock under a pavilion, and the old wooden doors that looked partially rotted with antique knobs. "Ugh… This place was far better looking when it was first built," Nikola lengthened his vampire claws and scratched at the wood. The door opened to reveal Druitt on the other side.

"What in the world are you doing here?" John asked more surprised than angry. The last person he would have thought to see was Nikola. Seeing the newly made vampire had John tasting the first edges of anger. Until his body built up enough of the serum in his body he would metabolize the amber serum faster than normal due to the source blood still contained in his DNA. "Helen!" John shouted fisting his hands, his nails biting into the flesh of his palm.

Helen had been sitting, trying to still her heart when she heard her name. John was shouting for her. Coming out of the bedroom she grabbed her messenger bag with John's medication in it and went to the front door. She didn't have the time to process that Nikola was there. Pulling out a syringe, she took John's left arm to inject him. Helen sighed removing the needle. She took John's hand while he worked through the serum. There had been no way around the pain he was going through.

Nikola studied the way John clenched at Helen's hand; the way he clenched his jaw. "So, I take it you found a way to chain the homicidal elemental inside of him?" Nikola just looked on. It didn't matter to him that John was in pain but it sort of bothered him that Helen succeeded in finding a cure, if he could be called that, for Druitt where he hadn't been able to. Course at the time Druitt came to him for help, Nikola hadn't really been trying. He couldn't believe it irked him.

John felt the pain pass allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief. "I guess that thing doesn't like you much." He mused resting the palm of his free hand against the wall. The anger settled down, locked behind the cage of the serum coursing through his system. His heart rate quickened when Helen felt for his pulse. She was only checking his vitals to make sure he was truly all right. He knew that, yet, he still reacted to her every touch.

"You'll pulse is a little elevated, but other than that, I think you're reacting well to the treatment." Helen slid a glare to Nikola. It wasn't so much her anger at him for just showing up, but her anger at him for just being him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to help. You have a stalker and that's not good." Nikola walked right past them not even bothering to wait for an invitation. "I know what you said to me was meant to be cruel but I had time to think it over and I knew you weren't serious." He pulled out the few remaining pictures that he hadn't shredded in his fit of anger. "I only realized this after I was given these." Nikola showed them the pictures of them playing in the waves like children.

"So," John drew out the word. "Helen and I are here together." He was remaining calmer than he would have thought. Whoever was photographing them was trying to turn Helen's friends against her. He wouldn't let that happen to Helen.

"I never said I wouldn't see John." Helen stalked past Nikola and into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She made busy work out of preparing the tea while the water boiled. It was working on her last nerve that someone was watching her and John. What annoyed her more is that Nikola had come here. Right now she hated the vampire and his higher intellect. Still, she knew that to find who was watching them Helen would need Nikola. She hated that fact even more.

**LATER THAT AFTERNOON:**

John sat out on the dock attached to the back of the beach house. For the better part of the morning he had listened to Helen and Nikola bicker and argue like there was no tomorrow. He had thought it best to just let them be. Besides it wouldn't have done well for him to be in the thick of things, adding fuel to the fire. It was best for him to stay out of the way. Helen could handle herself against Tesla, of that John had no doubt. Instead John sat back and enjoyed listening to the sounds of the afternoon on the Caribbean.

At one point John had been standing just out of sight listening to them argue and bicker. He hadn't been worried. It was well known that Nikola still had a schoolboy crush on Helen that he mistook for love. John wouldn't allow himself to get jealous of Nikola because at the end of the day Helen would be with him and not the vampire. After a few more minutes and insults John went back out to the porch off the bedroom to wait out all the shouting.

Out in the living room Helen was fed up with Nikola. "No one invited you!" She shouted. The whole point of her staged fight with John had been to get out here where she could treat him in an environment that would keep his anger level to a minimum. It was as close to a neutral environment as she would get. Helen hadn't wanted to treat him at the Sanctuary.

"I guess you weren't going to tell me about the stalker either?" Nikola sniped knowing that John could hear them and if he didn't want another hand through his chest he had better keep his tone somewhat civil.

"No, because it is none of your business," Helen crossed her arms over her chest and just waited. She was feeling a little self conscious in what she was wearing. It hadn't been her plan for anyone but John to see her dress like this.

"Like this is none of my business either?" Nikola pulled out his cell phone and played the video he had been texted that morning. The sound of Helen moaning filled the space between them. It was enough to make Nikola want to cringe. John was the one bringing her pleasure. His teeth ground down with another gasp Helen made.

"How did you get this?" Helen demanded taking the cell from him. She watched the events of last night play out. It was her and John by the bon fire. John was pleasuring her with the white rose and she was moaning and gasping in ecstasy.

"Your stalker I assume was watching you last night," Nikola changed tact's letting his eyes run up and down her body, "You know I can't stay mad at you when you look like this. My god you look ravishing." Whatever Nikola was expecting the response he got from Helen was definitely not it.

Arching her eyebrow at him, Helen reached for one of the pillows on the couch. She swung it as hard as she could, hitting Nikola in the jaw. It knocked him back a few steps in surprise more than it actually hurt him.

"You hit me… with a pillow." He ran his hand over the left side of his jaw and nearly laughed. It was funny to say the least.

"I thought it more polite than shooting you." Helen answered putting the pillow back on the couch, "Besides, I can't really hide a gun in what I'm wearing." She walked to the open doors looking out over the peaceful Caribbean ocean. "Why did you come here?" Helen sighed.

"To help," Nikola stood behind Helen. He needed to do something for her and he didn't know why. Tesla never went out of his way to help anyone before.

"Since when do you want to help?" Helen looked at his reflection and saw something in Nikola's gaze that she hadn't seen before; regret. It sliced at her heart in a way she never thought that she would feel. Helen always kept herself locked away from anyone. She chalked it up to the emotional scarring from John when he went Ripper.

"I always want to help you, but you shut me out." Nikola answered lightly placing his hand on Helen's bare shoulder. She shook off his touch just as he knew she would. Helen was still very much John's woman. Nikola should respect that, but he didn't. John was boring, had average intelligence. Helen was the interesting one.

"Then you should leave, now…" Helen moved away and walked back to the bedroom where she saw John sitting down on the back dock that was attached to a section of the deck. She went to John and never looked back at Nikola.

John looked up shielding his eyes from the sun to se Helen walking to him. He would have thought she would have looked angry, but she was smiling at him. It was a smile that would put the sun to shame. "You look happy." He said standing up and holding out his hand to her.

"Nikola made me mad for a few minutes, but seeing you brightens my day." Helen stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his waist reveling in the feel of him around her. This was the choice she had made and it was the choice she was going to stick with. John may not be good for her, but at least he never intentionally hurt her. It was the creature. Nikola would hurt anyone who got in his way, including her no matter how much he professed to love her. That much she knew for sure.

**SANCTUARY:**

"Tell me you found something." Will pleaded with Henry as he stood watching the werewolf typing away at his keyboard.

"I think I have some but dude, you may not like what I found." Henry answered. He didn't like what he had found. It actually, kind of, made sense since what had happened with the UN and the LOTUS team a few months ago.

"Just tell me what you have." Will said pulling up a swivel chair to the bench to wait for the down pour of bad news.

"I traced the IP address of the video that was sent to us over the internet." Henry began, "and it ended up at a remote terminal that I thought was a dead end until I hit a back door and followed that to two places. One was a server in the Caribbean and the other went to…" Henry took a pause, "You ready for this? The second trace went to Lillian Lee's office."

"What?" Will couldn't believe it. He shouldn't believe it, but Henry was never wrong.

"It went straight to Doctor Hottie." Henry was still in shock about it. Frankly he didn't want to believe it was her who was capable of doing any of this

"Magnus has to be told," Will was fishing his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Kate is already on her way to the doc's beach house." Henry leaned slightly to the side.

"Great, and since Druitt is there…" Will threw up his hands. "Why do I even bother?" He grumbled walking out of the lab leaving the werewolf alone.

Henry sent off a text to Kate, 'You are in trouble with Will.' Then he turned off his phone because he knew what her response would be. Kate really wouldn't care. Henry was just going to stay out of it and stick to working on his computers. It was safer to be in his lab.


End file.
